LE T T E R IX. 229 



felves at firft coming to us ; of which fort, per- 

 haps, was the Negro, who immediately killed 

 his Wife and Child, and afterwards fuffered fuch 

 a cruel Death undauntedly. Nay, the molT: intel- 

 ligent of them, have no manner of Religious 

 Worfhip, as far as I could ever difcover -, though 

 I am told, that at yamaicay the Negroes have^ 

 what they call, a Hearing, in fome Guinea 

 Tongue, /. e. One of the moft knowing of them, 

 teaches all the reft in a long Speech 3 This Af- 

 fembly, may confift of four or five hundred 

 Blacks. All they owned was, That God is a ve- 

 ry Good Man, who lives above the Sky, and that 

 all Good Men when they die, afcend lip to live 

 with him, but that even then, the good Blacks 

 will be, in fome meafure. Slaves to us Whites : 

 As for Men, both Whites and Blacks, they then 

 go down below into the Earth, to live along with 

 Jumbee, viz. the Devil, whom they infill: upon^ 

 to be of neither White nor Black, but of a red 

 Mullatto Colour, without Horns, Tail, or clo- 

 ven Hoofs : However, they all agree, that he 

 has long Red Hair growing on his Breaft. 



6. I have, fince my return to England^ (feveral 

 times) heard it objeded, by miftaken Zealots, 

 that if the Mafi:ers of our Plantation Negroes, 

 would but have them baptized, and that if we 

 Clergymen, would be at the pains to inftrud: 

 them, they would then do much better in all re- 



p 3 fpedts. 



